Seven days ago Cheltenham Town had lost their opening game at Morecambe, where they were only able to name five substitutes from a possible seven.

Harry Pell

Harry Pell was left out and looked to be on his way to Blackpool and there were plenty of concerned faces around, even after an encouraging display at the Globe Arena, ruined by an injury time goal for the hosts.

One week on and Cheltenham have caused an upset at Oxford United in the Carabao Cup and drawn Premier League West Ham United at home in the second round.

The influential Pell opted to remain at Whaddon Road in spite of Blackpool’s advances, saying the League One club was not for him.

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An experienced striker has been brought in, with Hibernian’s Brian Graham signing a two year contract on Thursday.

Brian Graham goes on for his Cheltenham Town debut

And to cap it all off, Cheltenham picked up their first League Two win of the season against Crawley Town.

Cheltenham Town have a new goalscoring hero

Three games into his professional career, Mohamed Eisa certainly does not look like a flash in the pan.

He was in the right place at the right time to head the excellent Kyle Storer’s powerful cross into the net in the 38th minute and it proved to be the only goal of the game.

Mohamed Eisa scores and celebrates the opening goal against Crawley Town

It was Eisa’s fourth strike in three competitive appearances, added to the five he scored in pre-season.

He looks nothing like a player who was competing four levels lower last season.

Confidence is flowing and the 23-year-old is a constant threat with his speed and movement.

Cheltenham’s recruitment was poor last summer, followed by an improvement in January.

But in Eisa, Pete Johnson may have uncovered a real gem of a signing and it will be interesting to see how long Cheltenham wait before offering an longer contract, with January the most likely time if he can maintain anything like this sort of form.

Losing Jerell Sellars is a real blow

Sellars has been outstanding since first pulling on a Cheltenham shirt, but he now faces up to a month out with a hamstring injury.

The squad is definitely healthier than it was a week ago, but it remains too small to be able to cope with too many injuries and Sellars’ early form means it will be a significant loss.

Jerell Sellars

He has been fouled countless times already this season and has the ability to weave around defenders in an almost effortless manner.

Kevin Dawson’s return to could soften the blow, with the ex-Yeovil Town man likely to be in contention for the trip to Carlisle United next Saturday.

Cheltenham have been careful not to rush Dawson back from his thigh problem, but if he lives up to his reputation he should be an excellent addition.

Nigel Atangana showed what he can do

The Frenchman was left out of the starting line-up after feeling the effects of the extra-time win over Oxford United.

But he was called upon in the 28the minute when Sellars had to go off with his hamstring injury.

Atangana looks more useful when he has Kyle Storer behind him, rather than playing in the deepest midfield position.

Nigel Atangana

He was one of Cheltenham’s top performers in the second half as they kept Crawley out to hold on to the three points and claim a first clean sheet of the season, with full-backs Jordon Forster and Jordan Cranston also impressing.

Atangana may not play every game, having been forced to play through the pain barrier for Leyton Orient last season due to a lack of numbers.

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Even without Sellars, the middle of the pitch is probably where Cheltenham are strongest and Johnson should be able to pull him out as and when necessary to lessen the risk of injury.

The West Ham tie looks like it going to be televised

The match has been moved to Wednesday, August 23 and Storer certainly expects it to be televised based on his post-match interview.

Cheltenham already stand to receive the full gate receipts due to West Ham’s inability to host the match at their London Stadium, which will not yet be ready for football after the World Athletics Championships.

Sky Sports will add a significant sum for the right to show it live and there is also likely to be a sell-out crowd of just over 7,000 at Whaddon Road.

It will all help swell the coffers before the transfer window closes at the end of the month and boyhood Hammers fan Paul Baker will be rubbing his hands.